Earlier this month, I was sitting in some meeting that I can’t remember all the details about, staring out the window at the sunny, blue sky. I wondered what would happen if we could edit out unnecessary, collegial dialogue at meetings.

You know what I’m talking about. And if you’re a mere communications mortal like me, you’ve probably been guilty of it yourself. It’s those moments when you can’t control what’s coming out of your mouth, you don’t have enough time to formulate an intelligent, pithy statement, and you feel compelled to say something because you’re trying to justify your presence at the meeting to either your boss, your peers or perhaps even to yourself. And on this oddly sunny January day in San Francisco, I pondered what would happen if there was a Like button at these meetings.

On Facebook, we hit the Like button for a variety of reasons.

1. We want to show our support and that we’re rooting for our friend!

2. We want to remind them that we are not just a voyeur, we are there.

3. We want to kiss somebody’s ego.

4. Pure peer pressure. 18 other people have liked the status update, and so should we.

5. We don’t even know why we’re clicking Like, it’s just reflex.

It’s for these same reasons that we articulate how much we like what other people have already stated in meetings. We say things such as “That’s a great idea” or “Well put” or “I couldn’t agree with you more…” and then carry on for another 90 second about why we agree with what was said and proceed repeat what was said in our own words and with a different tone of voice. Imagine a world where we could just hit a Like button on our conference call line or at the meeting table and send our support so much more efficiently to our peers. We’d cut our meeting time down by at least 36% I’m sure.

As communication professionals, we carry the immense responsibility of educating our peers about when to communicate, and how much. We can start with situations as simple as meetings, and lead by example and nod Like to our peers. (Virtual meeting? No worries, either say nothing at all of limit yourself to one word like, Agreed or Yes.)

Go ahead, bring your imaginary Like button to your next meeting and hit it - don’t say it. You may end up impressing your boss, doing a favor to your peers and LIKING yourself even more!

Got a brevity tip for meetings? Share it in the comment section!